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Restraining order against selectman's beau extended

By John Collins, jcollins@lowellsun.com

Updated:
05/23/2014 05:42:37 PM EDT

DRACUT -- A Lowell District Court judge has granted Ted Kosiavelon, a runner-up in the Board of Selectmen's race, a one-year extension of the restraining order he obtained earlier this month against Bill McMahon, boyfriend of board Chairwoman Cathy Richardson.

On May 8, Kosiavelon, who finished fourth in the race for two selectmen's seats, obtained the initial, 10-day "anti-harassment" order against McMahon, two days after McMahon came to his home uninvited and "physically threatened" Kosiavelon over his endorsement of state Rep. Colleen Garry on Facebook, Kosiavelon said.

On Thursday, a judge extended the expiration date on Kosiavelon's restraining order against McMahon to May 22, 2015.

Kosiavelon acknowledged his Facebook endorsement of Garry, who defeated Richardson in a contentious race for the State House seat representing Tyngsboro and Dracut in 2012, was made partly in reaction to Richardson's failure to do anything to help him get elected in the selectmen's race. This, despite Kosiavelon having made donations and campaigned on Richardson's behalf in past elections, he said.

In a verbal confrontation that occurred in the kitchen of Kosiavelon's 54 Vermont Ave. home on the evening of May 6, the day after the election, "Billy told me that if he heard me talking bad about 'my girl,' (Richardson) he'd 'rip my (obscenity-deleted) hair out,'" said Kosiavelon, quoting McMahon.

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Kosiavelon said he ordered McMahon to leave his property, and called the Dracut Police Department to file a formal complaint. The threat was witnessed by Kosiavelon's wife, who also filed a police report consistent with her husband's account of the incident.

McMahon did not appear in Lowell District Court for either the May 8 or May 22 hearings to challenge Kosiavelon's account of the incident, nor request for a restraining order.

"Billy was a no-show. To me, it means he's admitting there's a problem," Kosiavelon said. "Evidently, it's true what I'm saying, that he's 'Billy-the-Bully of Dracut,' and that he did something wrong. He admitted as much by not showing up to court."

At the start of Thursday's brief hearing, Kosiavelon swore an oath that the information provided in his complaint was truthful and accurate. At one point, the judge inquired of Kosiavelon how he could be sure that McMahon lives with Richardson at the listed address.

"I answered the judge, 'I'm a contractor, and I've done work on her property,'" Kosiavelon said. "And that was it. He said, 'So awarded,' giving me the no-contact order for another year.

"You don't come into my house and threaten me. That's where he crossed the line," Kosiavelon said of McMahon. "He's nuts."

McMahon, who Kosiavelon said does not own a cellphone, could not be reached for comment for this story.

According to Kosiavelon, three days after he obtained the 10-day restraining order, McMahon phoned a longtime friend of Kosiavelon's to say that Kosiavelon had lied about what transpired between them in Kosiavelon's home on May 6.

The harassment-prevention order authorized by Justice Thomas Brennan, requires McMahon, whose listed home address is the same as Richardson's at 316 Richardson Road, to remain at least 100 yards away from Kosiavelon at all times, and not contact him "by telephone, in writing, or otherwise, either directly, or through someone else," the order states.

"I believe that phone call, which Billy made to a good friend of mine, violated the no-contact order," Kosiavelon said. "If he even calls up anyone I know, and mentions my name in any negative way, he's in violation of the order and can be arrested."

Kosiavelon, who has joined the Committee to Reelect Colleen Garry, predicted his restraining order against McMahon may come into play during Richardson's anticipated campaign against Garry this fall.

"It means Mr. McMahon cannot be anywhere within 300 feet of where Ted Kosiavelon is holding signs for Colleen Garry, or have any contact whatsoever." Kosiavelon said.

"But this really is not about politics," Kosiavelon added. "This is about the fact that Bill McMahon's a bully. And I want to put a stop to this man bullying people."

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